My first thought on waking, was that I was happy. Not so much because I was living the life of a king (although I wasn't complaining about that), but because I had a reason for living: a mission. It was such a different feeling, having a purpose in life, to waiting around for the COVID restrictions to end. While Greyland was starting in a very difficult situation, I believed I could turn it around.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKFudf1VH3
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For a start, I had to ramp up iron production and correct my earlier mistake. As my first action, I assigned the realm's three iron ingots to the Smithy for more steel pickaxes.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNiyvYDG1b
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Crucial to my success in this world would be my personal character progression. With some anxiety I called up my character sheet to see if I'd managed to improve it by my efforts of the previous day.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWuNmYPpo0
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Sean de Courcy, king of Greyland477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4yohKeKyG
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Str 7477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa866qHZTTx
Dex 4477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAkpE7CPkv
Con 8477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoE232lE6y
Int 16477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQviBzynYmr
Wis 16477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOcSVz9yFy
Cha 4477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIdMfLNWxLV
477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEyLMu6QB2
Please choose a character archetype:477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10mLsIKRcq
Fighter; Wizard; Healer; Scout477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PPpVulhSO
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Of course, neither my Strength of Constitution had shifted. I sighed to myself. How many more days of exercise would it take to test whether those stats would rise? Should I give it a week and then give in and choose a Wizard or Healer path? The people who had summoned me here wanted a battlefield leader and my own desire led me to want to be a martial class of some sort. But it would be idiotic to aim for that if I was stuck with these stats.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDm5nvbwapd
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Then I noticed the final attribute, Charisma. It had gone from 3 to 4. Yes! Yes! And again Yes!477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iQAZTJFEk
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Stats could be worked on. A glow of pleasure rushed through me. Okay, so it wasn't a Fighter stat that had moved, but really, after one day, even if I had focused on Strength, I could hardly have expected to see progress. I had a hunch that the reason I'd seen Charisma move was that it was a lot easier to raise a 3 to a 4 than a 7 to an 8.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgZhNQCiou
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Following that last thought, I had to admit to myself that it might take months to move Strength to something useful in battle, but even so I decided to take the risk and commit to Fighter. It was time to get going. I missed being the most bad-ass warrior in Storm Wars and couldn't even imagine what it would feel like to be on top of the game be like in a world where it really mattered? Still, it was pointless, counterproductive even, to daydream. There was a mountain to climb. And I hadn't even taken one step yet towards the summit.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPmdSugEcQ
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I selected Fighter and got a message:477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59toClvNsu
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Welcome Sean de Courcy, to the path of the Fighter. You have chosen to stand toe to toe with your foes, dealing blows to them and evading their own attempts to harm you. It is a path for the brave and for the resolute. If you are fortunate and progress, in due course you will unlock specialisations within the Fighter class.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCbyq1MFdE
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You will also unlock new skills by discovering them through action. For now, you have 10 skill points to assign among the following:477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaoWPXjssHJ
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Bash: action, shield users only, additional attack with shield477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQ3jiXN5QQ
Block: passive, shield users only, wards melee attacks if successful477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NDFXKBs7s
Deflect: passive, shield users only, wards missile attacks if successful477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tNAsrqpI8
Defensive Stance: passive, reduces damage of hits received if successful477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9zFhBMAaj
Dodge: passive, avoid an opponent's attack477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpsbKz1T3z
Grapple: action, unarmed attack that restricts opponent if successful477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgYI8WpFiX
Lunge: action, pointed weapons only, additional attack at up to +1m range477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkOhxA5NvZ
Parry: passive, intercept your opponent's attack with your main hand weapon477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡev1a0MuH0j
Quick draw: action, produce hidden or sheathed weapon477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RCc28QPmw
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Quite a lot to think about there. And I had to make my choice right away, as the screen couldn't be flicked away in the usual fashion. Generally, I preferred a min-max approach to RPG gaming. It was usually better to be really good at one skill and adapt your strategy to that skill than to have no particular specialism and be somewhat competent at everything. Ideally, I would have had a taste of fighting before make my choice, so as to get a feel for what would be the best skill to invest in. Here, though, there was going to be a lot of guesswork.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUO2v5ZP93
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On the assumption I'd have the support of the high level people who had summoned me, I decided I should focus on attack rather than defence. Back in Storm Wars defence was crucial but here, at the low levels at least, I felt it best to try to rack up experience fast through killing mobs. Lunge appealed most, surely an extra attack and a bit more range on an attack was going to prove useful? When I tried to put my ten points into the skill, however, I got a message.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuwFBcV37p
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Skills are capped at Level x 5477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyLuhDh4Wm
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Adding 5 points to Lunge worked. So for my other choice? Was I going to use a shield? Probably but not necessarily. I didn't know what weapons were going to be available to me here. Parry then. While Quick draw had its appeal, it was very situational. Whereas pretty much every fight I was in would involve the opportunity to parry.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfzeyKNqTN
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My character sheet now had my class and skills, also, an EXP bar, showing that I needed 100 to get to Level 2 and HP. I had hit points! Not many though. And an armour class that at 0 probably reflected the fact that I had no armour on at all. Even if I did, that poor Dexterity score probably carried a penalty.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HQ7cCdsUh
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Sean de Courcy, king of Greyland477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQyXio6jHe
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Fighter, Level 1 HP 8 AC 0477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbY0AiXnGG
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Str 7477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhDWp0zt7m
Dex 4477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivhcHXn1Cm
Con 8477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡond052Kfvw
Int 16477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXr3AjS7dq
Wis 16477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBhPAc1zWY
Cha 4477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Gogv0S5OU
477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gZ8SwahyU
Lunge 5477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡie5cEJaNYM
Parry 5477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXHbZkUKsF
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Exp 5/100477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhsu71padJ
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With the help of the PCs in Greyland, I should be able to level up fast.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDw0UQwq16
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If it wasn't for my heavy body, I'd have leapt out of bed with a spring in my step and an eager desire to get going. As it was, I had to lever myself up and then struggle with every single garment before managing to get dressed. It didn't help that I ached all over from yesterday's marching around the barracks square. At last, I was presentable and down I went to breakfast.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQi2MhOuhN
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Today, the castle servants were ready for me and along with a glass of apple juice was a bowl with more apples and a plate with two poached eggs. I felt desperately hungry and was tempted, when a new servant tentatively approached, to ask for more. But I had to get down to a size where armour could fit me and a horse could carry me. So I had to diet. End of. Back home, I had sometimes tried to cut out unhealthy snacks, and managed for a while, before invariably returning to them and sometimes bingeing while hooked up to Storm Wars. Here, I felt differently. Here, getting the king's body into shape was just as important as levelling up and sorting out Greyland's food supply. There was no 'Will I? Won't I?' discussion to be had with myself. It had to be done.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oCf1HjIBK
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After breakfast, I left the keep and walked slowly in the direction of the barracks. The citizens of the town hurried away from me or redoubled their efforts if they were working. For the first time, I noticed that stored away in the shadowy corner of a large cobbled square was a gibbet and a chopping block. Had my predecessor really executed people by hanging and beheadings? It was not a question I could ask anyone except one of the three who had been there at the summoning.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0eELfxVL8
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The soldiers were already drilling when I got to the barracks and I was pleased to see archers firing at straw scarecrows. Thirteen, fourteen… yet fifteen. Those were my new recruits. It might have been a dumb move using up all my iron before the steel pickaxes were completed but I was glad to see the archers all the same.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIB5prRyOyu
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Carradock was there, marching some foot soldiers back and forth. He passed the duty to one of the men and came over at a brisk walk on seeing me.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlioaZzRrV
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'How are you today sire? Able to continue?'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJ718uoYnm
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'Stiff, but yes.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5KEIjHjnf
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'I suggest another march then. Sixty circuits.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡml5P2NucUm
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'Right so. Before I set off, I've a question you might know the answer to.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV53hNtx9WU
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He looked at me expectantly.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CXlG2YayX
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'I just learned the Lunge skill. Do you know how I utilise it?'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtUBY4PcPb
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Surprise, then caution crossed the trainer's face. 'Not I sire. Skills like what you're talking about are special. You need to talk to someone like Lord Arval.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLwetEPEDZ
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'Good idea. Send someone to fetch him will you.' As was my nature, I almost added 'please', but no doubt that would be taking my change in character too far.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7qo8jvB5D
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On lap six, Lord Arval fell in step. 'Sire?'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNS17GMiWu
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'Two questions.' I already felt the need to be economical with my breath. 'Active skills like Lunge, how do I use them? And what's the quickest way for me to level up? Got some giant bats I can kill?'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xURBmPzwi
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'Skills? You'll see them as selectable icons when the right conditions are met. I mean when timers are ready; or the right weapon is in hand; or you've moved yourself into the right position. Skills are very experiential. You get to discover them and advance them mostly by practice.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHkrWjvyOR
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I nodded, hands swinging like pendulum weights as I strode determinedly around the square.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfspJzw5T7e
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Lord Arval kept pace effortlessly. 'For levelling up, I think quests. Without access to the menus I can't be exact, but I felt that just by performing chores for the townspeople I became significantly stronger. Perhaps reaching level three or four.' He gave me a sharp look. 'It helps with your reputation with them too.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSccHZVWnb9
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'Good. I'll be done here by midday, come with me this afternoon and show me these quests.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0lBdrKieG
477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAOk60UM7z
First checking no one was close enough to overhear us, Lord Arval leaned closer and dropped his voice. 'I'd never disagree with a command of yours, but I was intending to take the new archers down to Three-Ways Fort and check on our defences. I could ask Carlena to show you the easiest town quests?'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRortKfoPE5
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I caught his – grey – eyes and gave the slightest of nods.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXaiJDW093
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'Very good sire,' Lord Arval spoke loudly and deferentially. 'As you ask, so it will be.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6p3Xj7LhDy
477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzH78Atvty
The laps today were a little easier and even a soft rain didn't deter me. Walking was good for studying the menus too and I drilled down into the kingdom's various options, reading up on descriptions of buildings and balancing their various benefits against the immediate need to solve our food problem and be able to resist an attack if Southway and Trolland continued their alliance.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQcEkdgFtI
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After I finally completed my sixty laps, I took a salute from Carradock and went back to the keep for a bath and change of clothes. Then I sat in the very large throne in the large hall on the second floor, the solar they called it. Outside, beyond the lead crosses that contained the window glass, the day was still grey. I could have rested there, alone, for some time, but Carlena arrived and waving away the servants who had brought her to me, came over.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoFZa6pWOh
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'You wanted me to help with quests?'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LjgyriVrH
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'Yes please. I've started as a Fighter but, honestly, I'm not in the shape to hit things yet. So quests are perfect. And Lord Arval said they would level me fast.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qPwKZU0dq
477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Tq5QBOApF
'Yes, they will. At least, they got me to my third spell. After that, you'll need to battle monsters. Also, your combat skills won't increase unless you do.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQWV9Aqg2k
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'Right so, let's go and do some quests.' It was painful, moving again after being seated for a while. But pain meant gain, right? And I had the incentive of levelling up to encourage me.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDH7G6401v9
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'It's been a while since I did these…' She looked thoughtful, long, silver hair tied back so I could see her severe face clearly. 'And try to be more like King Carlos. Everyone is talking about you. About how you've changed.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qM034UzBI
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'He was a thug, right?'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8h4e5wJrCt
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'More of a sly creature, like a fox. Watching and waiting … then punishing. Never trusting anyone. You didn't know where you were with him. Not even me, who – forgive the lack of modesty – is the most important person in the kingdom. There was a time when I thought he was going to hang me for treason. Even though that would mean no sorcerer for our battles.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNMpQlUmA0
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Having reached the large, double doors Carlena went silent and waited for me to lead her out. From just behind my right shoulder, she muttered directions as we walked down narrow cobbled streets until we came to a bakery.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ709rni6LRe
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'In there is a female baker who needs a large rat killed.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡguqDkAiK8d
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I barged in, under the swinging sign of a loaf of bread. My bulky body made a small room feel even smaller: counter with several loaves; bare planks for floors; whitewashed walls; back room with an aroma of newly baked bread that made my mouth water.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWeqqyggJ6
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A boy, about ten years old, was sweeping dust. His mouth dropped open. A thin woman behind the counter looked at me with pure horror, then said quietly, 'Miya bless me!'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXO3yBKSsF
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'I believe you have a problem with a rat?'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOzJZAtQXm
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No one moved or spoke, until the boy dropped his brush and ran. Then the woman did the same.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT78xZla352
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'Guards!' yelled Carlena. When two soldiers came running, she instructed them to bring the baker back.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlOwsNT1pC
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Feeling impatient, I tried to strum my thick fingers on the wooden counter top, but couldn't, they just thumped down in a group. My crappy Dexterity? Or simply lack of practice with this body?477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DCzfe9cRD
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At last the guards returned, holding the woman between them. She was clearly terrified and I would have said something comforting, except that Carlena wanted me to stay in character.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlKG2qR2by
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'You have a task?' I asked.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKwkh8fPzI
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'But…' she was looking at the floor. 'But… you've already done it.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiXZqsJzez
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I shot a glance of alarm at Carlena who remained perfectly impassive. No doubt for the benefit of the guards.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZZaDVy8EH
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'Give it to me again.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdF9T5w3c8
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'I can't sire, I really can't. Please don't kill me, I have three children.'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCZX8QsmV6
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'Just try. Just say the words. I'm sure it will work. Go ahead!'477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgEoW4UHk7
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But she couldn't. Her mouth opened and closed without a sound coming out. Tears ran down her face.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENinaz82UR
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Exasperated and not wanting to cause the baker to suffer any further, I strode back outside, took a second to orientate myself, and set off back toward the keep. Levelling up was going to require a rethink.
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